General Information

When you are leaving home for a travel, business or leisure
in Japan, there are lots of things you should know about
Japan. Myjapanphone.com prepared some general information
about Japan, such as: Japan Electricity, Japan Medical Services,
Japan Banks, Japan Police¡­¡­and so on. If you come to Japan
for the first time it will be very useful for you¡£ Emergency
There are two different phone numbers to dial in an emergency
- 110 to call the police or 119 to report a fire or to call
an ambulance. These emergency numbers can be dialed from
a public telephone without paying for the call by pressing
the red button that is located on the front of the phone.

Postal Service
Postcards and stamps are available from post offices, convenience
stores and kiosks at train stations all over the country.
Post boxes are located by street crossings, buildings and
public facilities. The opening slot of the post box may
differ depending on the size of mail that the post box is
designed to accept.

Electricity
The electrical current in Japan is 100V AC. Two different
cycles are used. Tokyo and eastern Japan are on 50 Hz whilst
western Japan, including Osaka Nagoya and Kyoto, is on 60
Hz. Flat two pin plugs (identical to those in North America)
are used in Japan. Most major hotels provide outlets for
both 110V and 220V appliances such as shavers, hairdryers
and travel irons.

Police
You will notice that there are police boxes very often located
by main street crossings in Japan, to keep an eye on people
on the street and assist them to find their way to their
destination. Japan's crime rate is very low compared to
that of many other countries.
Koban, or police boxes, are located throughout Japan with
police officers on duty in shifts 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. They handle everything from criminal cases and patrols
to giving people directions and dealing with lost and found
articles. Busy urban areas often have several police boxes.
A police officer is called an omawari-san.

Lost and Found
If you left your bag or package in a railway station or
other public area, go to the stationmaster's office or the
nearest police box and ask for English-language assistance.
If you left something in a taxi then go to your hotel's
reception desk. Taxi drivers often bring the belongings
back to your hotel.

National Holidays:
Most major department stores, tourist attractions and restaurants
remain open on national holidays except over the New Year
Period (officially 29 December - 3 January, however dates
may vary). Most shops and restaurants, except for those
within hotels, are closed over this period, as are government
offices, banks, private companies & museums.
Many smaller shops and businesses are also closed over other
traditional Japanese holiday seasons.

Trains and buses
Trains in Japan are almost always on time, but buses may
sometimes be delayed by traffic. Ordinary (local) trains
in Tokyo run from around 5:00 to midnight at intervals of
about 5 minutes, and many short-distance buses in Tokyo
run from around 6:00 to 22:00. Both trains and buses have
different schedules for weekdays, and for Saturdays, Sundays
and holidays. When taking a train, you purchase a ticket
to your destination before boarding. When traveling by short-
distance bus, the fee is paid in the bus.

Banks
Bank counters are open for business in Japan from Monday
to Friday, 9:00 to 15:00. Banks that can exchange foreign
currencies to yen are limited to certain banks in urban
areas. When banks are closed, cash and travellers cheques
can often be changed at major hotels or department stores.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are widely available but
they are not always open and do not always accept foreign
credit or cashpoint cards. Automatic teller machines (ATMs)
are usually open until 19:00 on weekdays and many also operate
on Saturdays and Sundays. An in creasing number of convenience
stores are installing ATMs as well. Some ATMs also permit
cash withdrawals using credit cards.